Mass Effect 3 Prologue Guide: Builds, Combat Tips, Collectibles, Choices
This installment of the Mass Effect 3 wiki walkthrough focuses on the Prologue mission set on Earth—covering how to shape your character before combat begins, how to survive every encounter, where to locate collectibles, and which dialogue options to choose depending on the kind of Commander Shepard you want to be.
Want to jump ahead? Use the checklist below to skip to the section you need.
- Before We Begin
- Mission Stats
- Meet With the Defense Committee
- Follow Anderson to Spaceport
- Find a Way Forward
- Radio for Extraction
- Hold Position For Extraction
Before We Begin
Before you start, the guide assumes you’ve already built your Profile. If you haven’t, you’ll want to review the Profile Setup options first.
It’s also strongly recommended that you play through Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 prior to starting this mission. If you haven’t, at minimum you should use the Genesis 2 comic setup so you’re caught up on the twelve major story decisions that carry forward into Mass Effect 3.
- Profile Setup
- Genesis 2
Also note that while the first three sections of Mass Effect 3 play out in a straightforward, linear manner, the game opens up afterward into a wide variety of activities. To make sure you don’t miss anything, there’s a navigation box at the bottom of each page that tells you where to go next—following those prompts will guide you through a full “100%” style run.
Mission Stats
Video Guide
Mission Rewards
- Experience: 2,000 XP
- Mission Credits: 10,000 credits
- Weapons:
- M-3 Predator
- M-8 Avenger
- M-3 Predator
- M-8 Avenger
Meet With the Defense Committee
At the start of the game, Shepard is in a small living space in Vancouver, Canada. They’ve been taken off duty after what happened during Mass Effect 2. While Shepard watches a child playing on the roof, James Vega enters the room—someone who clearly holds Shepard in high regard. Vega tells Shepard that the defense committee has summoned them urgently.
As you move through the area, you’ll also get time with an old ally: David Anderson, who is now an Admiral.
When Shepard asks Anderson whether the looming threat is the Reapers, you’ll get your first look at the Dialogue Wheel. The wheel presents options on the right side that always push the conversation forward. Later in the game, options that appear on the left will include an investigative angle, giving you extra information about what’s being discussed.
The wheel also separates choices by morality alignment. Options at the top represent Paragon (the “good” approach) and award Paragon Points. Options at the bottom represent Renegade (the “ruthless” approach) and award Renegade Points. Those morality points help unlock Persuasion options, which can let Shepard steer situations in their favor.
- Choose “We should’ve prepared more” for +2 Paragon Points.
- Choose “I’m certain” for +2 Renegade Points.
Anderson explains that Shepard’s knowledge makes them the most useful resource about the Reapers. Shepard is also understandably frustrated: they were removed from duty anyway. Anderson then points to Shepard’s past actions.
If you completed the Arrival DLC in Mass Effect 2, then Shepard’s history includes destroying the Alpha Relay, an action that killed 300,000 Batarians. If you didn’t, Shepard’s background instead reflects working with Cerberus more generally—an openly pro-human group that is, officially, categorized as a terrorist organization.
In the Courtroom Access chamber, Shepard runs into another familiar face: the Virmire Survivor. Depending on what you chose in Mass Effect 1, this character is either Major Kaidan Alenko or Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams (if you started a fresh Mass Effect 3 save, it will always be Ashley). Shepard doesn’t know about the promotion yet, since they’ve been kept out of the loop.
In this portion of the Dialogue Wheel, you don’t gain any morality points—so you can answer however you want without worrying about affecting your Paragon or Renegade totals.
Shepard is then brought to the Courtroom. Alliance defenses have been pierced by an overwhelming force at the Mass Relay near Pluto, and the invaders are now moving toward Earth. The defense committee asks Shepard for guidance, letting you choose:
- “We stand together” for +2 Paragon Points.
- “Survival at any cost” for +2 Renegade Points.
Before any plan can be executed, the Reapers surge past Luna Base and begin their invasion of Earth. In quick succession, Vancouver is hit, and the entire defense committee is wiped out. Anderson helps Shepard back up and hands them an M-3 Predator pistol, and the two set out toward the Normandy SR-2.
Follow Anderson to Spaceport
If you reset your Ability Points in Mass Effect 2 before importing that save into Mass Effect 3, you should now visit the Squad Screen in the Pause Menu to reassign your Ability Points.
To start the mission, follow Anderson using the waypoint indicator (press the Right Thumbstick input to reveal your target). Move left along the side of the building. Use the on-screen prompts to Sprint—this can be done indefinitely in Mass Effect 3.
Soon you’ll need to cross a gap. Sprint up to it and Shepard will automatically leap across.
Continue left and you’ll reach a ladder. Use the Left Stick to guide Shepard onto it. Immediately afterward, you’ll have to vault over some cover: press the same button you use for Sprint to duck under it, then press it again to vault over the top. Vaulting can be sped up by double-tapping the button, and if you vault while Sprinting, Shepard will slide over the barrier.
Keep following Anderson and you’ll encounter Husks—humans altered by the Reapers—climbing along the building exterior. This is also where you fire your weapon for the first time: use the left trigger to zoom in, and the right trigger to fire.
M-3 Predator
The pistol you’re holding is the M-3 Predator. It’s a light weapon with basic performance: lower damage output, but solid accuracy. Its main advantage is speed—fast firing, quick draw from Shepard’s side, and one of the quickest reload times in the game.
Once the Husks are dealt with (or if you simply run past them), follow Anderson down the ladder to a balcony. More Husks swarm the windows on the left. You’ll fire at them, but the pistol overheats, meaning you can’t shoot again until it cools down. As Anderson recommends, switch to melee.
Get close behind a Husk and use the on-screen prompt to smash it with the butt of your gun.
Next, another Husk climbs up and rushes you. Anderson’s warning is accurate: the Husk tries to grab Shepard. A quick melee attack breaks the grab, but in an actual firefight that moment leaves Shepard exposed to other enemies, so it’s usually better to avoid getting grabbed in the first place.
After Shepard eliminates this final Husk, a Reaper destroys part of the building and blasts the windows open, letting you move inside.
Find a Way Forward
- Med Kit – 25 XP. A red box sits in the rubble inside the doorway area, directly ahead when you enter.
To the left of the Med Kit, you’ll see a door marked with an orange square, indicating it can be forced. As you approach, another Husk attacks. If you use the button prompt, you can hold the Melee button to perform a Heavy Melee—Shepard drives forward with an Omni-Blade. This is slower than a standard melee, but it deals meaningful damage to anything it connects with.
Go through the door and a cutscene starts. As Shepard opens it for Anderson, they hear rustling in an air vent. After investigating, Shepard finds the same child they’d been watching earlier. Shepard can respond with either:
- “Let me help you” for +2 Paragon Points.
- “Get out of there!” for +2 Renegade Points.
No matter what you pick, the child refuses—insisting Shepard can’t help—and then disappears.
Shepard rejoins Anderson. Anderson points out that every minute Shepard stays here, thousands of innocents die. You can reply with:
- “I understand how you feel” for +2 Paragon Points.
- “It’s war. People die” for +2 Renegade Points.
As you push through the ruins, Anderson says Shepard must go to the Council and request assistance, using Shepard’s history as a Spectre to gain leverage.
On the other side, Anderson tells Shepard to reload using the red Thermal Clips on the ground.
After picking up the ammo, follow Anderson out the window and across the rooftops to the left. As you dash along, Anderson contacts your Virmire Survivor. During the call, a Reaper detonates what it’s described as a Dreadnought (it’s actually a Cruiser). The resulting shockwave knocks Shepard and Anderson down to street level.
Jump across the gap ahead, then step off the drop to meet two soldiers.
Now you’ll begin your first major firefight against enemies called Cannibals. The name comes from their behavior: they consume the bodies of fallen comrades to recover and gain armor strength. The fight begins with you automatically behind cover, so your position is protected from their fire. When they stop shooting but you can see them exposed, use the left trigger to pop out of cover. Before you rise, aim your reticle at them first—this reduces the chance you’ll get hit while trying to line up the shot.
After all Cannibals are down, talk to the Injured Soldier. Helping him moves the story forward.
Find the Radio
At this stage, Admiral Anderson officially joins your squad. That means imported Mass Effect 2 profiles can spend Ability Points on him in the Squad menu. His Incendiary Ammo power is especially useful if you pick up the Squad Bonus at Rank 4, because it allows Shepard to use it as well.
Anderson doesn’t have grenade ammo, though, so putting points into the Frag Grenade power is wasted effort. If you imported a Level 30 Shepard, you should have more than enough Ability Points to max out everything else first.
Your next objective is to locate the radio inside the crashed gunship the soldiers escaped from, so you can contact the Normandy and coordinate extraction. Move across the path toward the gunship, then turn left.
- Med Kit – 25 XP. On your right side as you approach the first corner on the route to the gunship.
Round the corner, then take cover so the Cannibals can’t pick you off. This section rewards patience—enemies may seem eliminated only for two more to appear just ahead.
The final Cannibal encounter is near the Radio you need to find, sitting beside the gunship. Head there to continue.
- M-8 Avenger – Found just ahead of the Radio near the crashed gunship. If you don’t pick it up, Shepard grabs it automatically during the Radio cutscene.
Hold Position For Extraction
M-8 Avenger
The M-8 Avenger you picked up earlier is the Assault Rifle counterpart to the Predator pistol. It’s light, accurate, reloads quickly, and has good range. It doesn’t offer a standout “signature” advantage, but it also avoids major weaknesses, making it a steady, dependable option whenever you want to focus on direct gunplay.
Anderson can reach out to call the Normandy, but until the ship arrives you must defend your location against repeated waves of Cannibals. If this defense is giving you trouble, consider spending Ability Points on Admiral Anderson in the Squad Menu to unlock stronger abilities that can help you survive the pressure.
This fight has a distinctive ending setup: there are two victory conditions. The first—more common—is when both of your guns run out of ammo. If you want to end the fight quickly, you can simply fire off all your remaining ammo. The second condition is to kill every enemy. That totals 30 Cannibals arriving in multiple waves, and it may not be feasible on higher difficulty settings.
Once either condition is met, Joker—pilot of the Normandy—blasts in and lands the refurbished SSV Normandy SR-2. Shepard jumps into the Cargo Bay and asks Anderson to join them, but he chooses to remain on Earth to lead the resistance against the Reapers.
Shepard can respond with either:
- “If you stay, I’m staying” for +2 Paragon Points.
- “The hell you’re not!” for +2 Renegade Points.
No matter what you choose, Anderson doesn’t change his mind. He instead tells Shepard to speak with the Citadel Council and request their backing, and he formally reinstates Shepard into Alliance service as Commander Shepard.
Commander Shepard promises to return with every fleet they can gather and wishes Anderson good luck.
As the Normandy departs, Shepard watches the child from earlier board an escape shuttle—only for it to be destroyed by a Reaper. Shepard looks away as the Normandy flies into space, searching for help through the wreckage of Earth’s defenses.
Looking for more Mass Effect 3 assistance? The guide points you toward additional sections such as Legendary Edition changes, how-to help, key choices and consequences, romance coverage, walkthrough coverage, and side mission pages.
- Legendary Edition Changes
- How-To Guides
- Key Choices and Consequences
- Romance Guide
- Walkthrough
- Side Missions
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Top Guide Sections
- Legendary Edition Changes
- Game Basics
- Tips and Tricks
- How-To Guides
